My Words Are Lost in Your Dancing
by BurningExistence
Summary: Regina and Emma are once again having another late night together, searching for answers that seem to be invisible. When Emma suggests they take a break, she turns on music, and the two women begin to slow dance to one of Emma's favorite songs. SwanQueen. Initiated by a song prompt on Tumblr.


**Authors Note: This story came from a prompt I did on Tumblr called Songs and Swan Queen. You are welcome to follow me there at "burningexistence". athenades87 suggested the song "After Dark" by Tito and Tarantula, so this song is what I wrote this story to. I would recommend turning the song on when you see the [**] in the story, as I think that will have the best effect, and then putting it on repeat. I do not own anything affiliated with Once Upon a Time or the selected song. If I use lines from the show or music, the OUAT/song writers get that credit. Hope you enjoy – burningexistence.**

My Words Are Lost in Your Dancing

"Regina," Emma said, as she sat cross legged on the floor next to the couch and tipped back what was remaining of Regina's apple cider. "Can't we just take a break?" She looked into the empty glass and immediately wished for more. God it was good. "We've been looking in these damn books for hours, there's nothing here. Besides, I'm tired. It's three in the morning. And I'm hungry - your cider is eating a hole through my stomach."

Regina shifted her weight on the couch and didn't look at the woman on the floor. Instead, she flipped over another page of a large brown book with one hand and slid her fingers through her hair with the other. "I know it's here, Emma. I can't just give up. You're welcome to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere," Emma said, looking to the woman across from her. "I told you, I'm in. I'll stop when you do." Emma set the glass on the floor next to her and scooted closer to the couch. "Regina, look at me."

When dark brown eyes looked up and met her own, Emma momentarily forgot what she was going to say. The words had been on the tip of her tongue, but now they were gone. The dark eyes looking at her were tired, sad, red, and lost. But they were stunning.

"Everything will be alright, we will find answers. But it's late, and we both need a break." Emma smiled and started again. "Come on, what do you say? I'll make us some grilled cheese sandwiches and we can pop open a root beer…"

Regina laughed and crossed one leg over the other, still wearing the red high heels she put on earlier that day. "You eat like a child."

"Eh, maybe. Kids have more fun though," Emma said, pulling out a loose strand from her fuzzy socks and creating a hole that wasn't previously there. "And besides, you know you want one."

"I have one. His name is Henry and he's spending the night with your parents."

Emma laughed, rolling her eyes. "Not a kid, you dork. A grilled cheese."

Regina raised her eyebrows at the "dork" comment, but chose to remain silent. "I am a queen," she said, "and a bit more refined than grilled cheese and root beer." She leaned back against the couch and folded her arms across her chest, shaking her head and looking to the woman across from her.

Emma uncrossed her legs and pushed herself up from the floor. Because her feet had a mind of their own, she tumbled a bit to the side as one got caught with the other. Regina chuckled but remained on the couch.

"Well, 'Your Majesty', I'm sure you probably have healthy crap in your fridge too – like cabbage or kale salad. You eat that, I'm going for the sandwich."

Emma straightened her white tank top and leaned down to grab the glass and her phone. She set the glass on the coffee table, which Regina immediately picked back up and slid a coaster under. Emma noticed this, but only snorted and began to scroll through her phone.

"First things first," she said, concentrating on whatever was on her screen, "let's have some fun."

Regina scrunched her eyebrows together. "What are you talking abo-"

But then the music started to play, and her words were cut off. **

Emma nodded to the sound as she bit her bottom lip. She stepped back and put her arms out in front of her, looking as though she were about to dance with someone. One hand was out in front of her chest like she was holding someone else's, and the other hand was lower and farther out, like she was holding someone's waist. She began to spin in slow circles, moving to the beat of the music, dancing alone.

Regina raised her previously scrunched eyebrows and watched the woman in front her. Emma's eyes were now closed, but she continued to sway side to side around the room, occasionally spinning as she did so.

"I revoke my previous statement," Regina said, trying her hardest not to smile and laugh. "You not only _eat _like a child, you also _act _like one."

"Eh, you gotta live a little, Regina." She opened her eyes and looked to the woman staring back at her. "And if no one is going to dance with me, I will dance alone." She closed her eyes again and swayed her hips to the slow beat emanating from her cell. She raised one hand above her head and twisted her body as she spun in a tight, slow circle. As she placed that hand back on the invisible shoulder, she quietly sang along: "In her eyes the distant firelight burns bright…"

Regina unknowingly slid forward on the couch, her back no longer resting against the cushions. Her eyes were fixed on the blonde in front of her, and her stomach began to feel strange, fuzzy, electric even. She once again ran her hand through her hair, noticing the slight shake her fingers made against her scalp. Emma still danced, not seeming to be embarrassed in the slightest. Regina wanted to say something, anything. But she had no words - they were lost in the electricity, in the music, in the lyrics, and in the dancing.

She silently stood from the couch, surprised by the overwhelming desire to do so. As Emma swayed from one foot to the other with both eyes still tightly shut, Regina advanced forward, careful not to make a sound. She walked a few steps closer, tucked her hair behind her ear, and sucked in a slow, quiet breath as she slid into place in front of the dancing woman. She closed her own eyes and tried to still the shaking in her hands as she reached out to take hold of both of Emma's. As their hands touched, they shared a gasp that became lost in the music.

Emma's eyes sprang open, and her mouth stretched into a huge smile. "Well, wouldn't you know it, the Queen _can _dance." Emma gripped Regina's hands a bit tighter and turned them in a slow circle around the room. She could feel the tremor in the woman's fingers and she fought to keep her breathing steady.

"Miss Swan," Regina said, opening her eyes and looking into the set of green ones staring back at her. She let go of one of Emma's hand and raised their other set up above their heads. "I have moves you've never _imagined _before, dear."

And as Regina spun her in a circle, Emma mumbled under her breath, "Oh I bet I have," to which Regina only smirked as she grabbed ahold of Emma's hands again. Her palms were smooth, but the outsides held scars – small white lines that were only noticeable if you were looking hard enough. Regina wanted to ask her where they came from, but for the second time that evening, she couldn't find the words. Instead, she twisted her hand in Emma's and traced the faint scars with the tips of her fingers, all the while still turning and swaying to the music. Her eyes looked up and searched the ones looking back at her, asking silent questions and conveying unbridled emotions.

Emma only stared back, lost in the dancing and a pair of deep brown eyes. She tried to take in a slow breath, but it came too quickly, and the air hitched in her throat. She could feel the questions building in her mind like they were weeds, crawling and seeping over the curves of her brain. _How does she know how to dance like this? What happens when the song ends? Why is she tracing my hand? _She took a step closer to Regina, steered them to the right, and then spun them to the left. _What made her get off the couch? Why does my stomach feel like this?_ But she didn't have the voice to ask them. So she stepped. She spun. She ignored everything but the moment they were in. And when Regina stepped even closer, Emma's heart seemed to stop.

"Regina, do you trust me?"

"Yes, Emma. More than you would know."

Emma smiled, and with a slight nod of the head, she broke the grasp from one pair of their conjoined hands. She slid her fingers down the length of Regina's arm, reveling in the way it felt and the way it made her stomach feel. When she reached her shoulder, she continued to slide her hand down Regina's side, and then around to the small of her back. With careful, calculated movements, she began to tip the woman backwards, forcing her into a very slow dip.

Regina kept eye contact with Emma for as long as she could, but as her head continued to fall backwards, their eye contact broke. Emma continued to lower her slowly back, drawing out the moment, making things move in slow motion. She noticed the way Regina's hand tightened on her own, the way her fingers trembled, the way her other arm dangled in the air. She could feel the muscles in Regina's back, and the way they tightened as she dipped further and further back. She noticed the way a thousand small fires had begun to dance through her body, and she knew she was going to have a hard time letting go in a moment.

So instead of bringing her up at the same speed in which she lowered her, Emma snapped Regina up quickly, causing her face to come within inches of Emma's. Regina inhaled sharply and quickly, locking eyes with the woman in front of her, stepping one last step closer, and both women began to lean their faces toward each other.


End file.
